Smooth muscles, striped muscles, and cardiac muscles are the three types of muscular tissue found in animals. They differ from each other in their structure, function, and location in the body.
- Smooth muscles:
- Also called unstriated or non-striated muscles
- Have spindle-shaped cells with a single, centrally located nucleus
- Located in the walls of organs such as the stomach, intestines, blood vessels, and uterus
- Function involuntarily to move substances through the organs by contracting and relaxing rhythmically
- Not under voluntary control.
- Striped muscles:
- Also called skeletal muscles or voluntary muscles
- Composed of elongated, cylindrical fibers with multiple nuclei located along the periphery of the cell
- Attached to bones by tendons and control voluntary movements of the body
- Striped in appearance due to the presence of alternating bands of light and dark regions called striations
- Can be consciously controlled.
- Cardiac muscles:
- Found only in the heart
- Composed of branching fibers with a single nucleus located in the center of the cell
- Have striated appearance like skeletal muscles
- Function involuntarily to pump blood out of the heart by contracting and relaxing rhythmically
- Can generate its own electrical impulses without the need for nerve stimulation.
